reading .csv file and getting the data out of it

[gadisandeep]

Hi,I am reading this .CSV file and new to this.I have information in tabular form where i have names in 1row and 1column and in between cells i have numbers indicating links of those names by that purticular number. I want to retrevie those names who are having that purticular number from the correspoinding row and column.

[stultuske]

read them all in a list of objects, an object which has two variables: name and number
and then search through that list to check the name that correspond to the number

[Tyrone.Wilson]

I have a DataManager Class. this is how I do it (maybe there is a better way I don't know)

In my DataManager Class I have these methods (among others)

public ArrayList readAsStrings(File filename) throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {
        /**returns all of the data in a file as Strings given the File object*/
        ArrayList data = new ArrayList();
        BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(filename));
        String nextLine = reader.readLine();
        if (filename.exists() && filename.canRead()) {
            while (nextLine != null) {
                data.add(nextLine);
                nextLine = reader.readLine();
            }
            reader.close();//just a good idea aparently
        }
        return data;
    }


public ArrayList extractFromCommas(String dataLine) {
        //Gives back the data that is found between commas in a String
        ArrayList data = new ArrayList();
        String theString = "";
        for (int i = 0; i < dataLine.length(); i++) {//go down the whole string
            if (dataLine.charAt(i) == ',') {
                if (i == 0) {
                //do nothing
                } else {
                    data.add(theString);//this means that the next comma has been reached
                    theString = "";//reset theString Variable
                }
            } else {
                theString = theString + dataLine.charAt(i);//otherwise, just keep piling the chars onto the cumulative string
            }
        }
        if (!theString.equalsIgnoreCase(""))//only if the last position is not occupied with nothing then add the end on
        {
            data.add(theString);
        }
        return data;
    }

public ArrayList findString(ArrayList data, String searchString) {
        //Finds a string in an arraylist of strings
        ArrayList foundStrings = new ArrayList();

        for (int i = 0; i < data.size(); i++) {
            if (data.get(i).toString().contains(searchString)) {
                foundStrings.add(data.get(i).toString());
            }
        }
        return foundStrings;//returns null if the string is not found.
    }

I would then use this in my main code:

public static void main(String[] args) throws FileNotFoundException, DocumentException, BadElementException, MalformedURLException, IOException {
        // TODO code application logic here
        DataManager dataMan = new DataManager();
        ArrayList data = new ArrayList();
        ArrayList col1 =  new ArrayList();
        ArrayList col2 = new ArrayList();
        
        data = dataMan.readAsStrings(new File("Directory\\this is my file.csv"));
        for(int i=0;i<data.size();i++){
            ArrayList temp =  new ArrayList();
            temp =  dataMan.extractFromCommas(data.get(i).toString());
            col1.add(temp.get(0).toString());
            col2.add(temp.get(1).toString());
        }
        String name =  "What I Am Looking For";
        data = dataMan.findString(col1, name);
        for(int i=0;i<data.size();i++){
            int index = Integer.parseInt(data.get(i).toString());
            System.out.println(col1.get(index).toString()+" "+col2.get(index).toString());
        }
        
    }

I think this will work but will depend on what you want.

hope it helps in any case.

good luck.